Long-time Raptors fan Kevin Vuong has collected many game-day giveaway T-shirts from the club over the years but the one he treasures the most is from a rare Christmas Day game.
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he → collect → game
Vuong attended that game seven years ago with his dad, and has worn that shirt on every Christmas since.
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Vuong → attend → Christmas
“I get to relive a little bit of that day again,” Vuong told the Star in an interview.
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Vuong → get → interview
“It’s a lifelong memory.”
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It → ’ → ?
A T-shirt can be a souvenir, a reminder of a great game or a special moment with a loved one.
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shirt → love → one
As the Raptors begin another season Wednesday night, amid all the excitement and dream of a long playoff run and another championship is the hoopla of opening night.
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hoopla → begin → night
This year, the Raptors are giving away a T-shirt of Kawhi Leonard’s gigantic hand to every fan who attends the game at Scotiabank Arena.
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who → give → Arena
The only other game the team is promising a shirt to all fans in attendance is Jan. 7 against Minnesota, as part of a week-long celebration of Kyle Lowry’s jersey retirement.
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team → promise → retirement
Long-time fans attending games have received many shirts over the years, especially during the playoffs, but which ones are their favourites?
Joshua Holder picked the team’s most recent playoff shirt from last season as his favourite.
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Holder → attend → favourite
The black T-shirt features a stylized reptilian eye.
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shirt → feature → eye
“It gives a detailed look of the Raptor,” Holder said.
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Holder → give → Raptor
“It has a phrase ‘Outside looking within’ which I would take as being a part of the Raptors community.”
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I → have → community
Hassan Hassan talks about a shirt from a 2017 playoff game that featured a stylized fist holding a basketball net.
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that → talk → net
“The design might look like random graffiti,” Hassan said.
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Hassan → look → graffiti
“But if you look closely, you can see a claw hand gripping a basketball net, symbolizing victory.
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you → look → victory
What makes this shirt even more interesting is the story behind it.
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shirt → make → it
The shirts were placed on fans seats before the Raptors faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2017 playoffs.
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Raptors → place → playoffs
Even though the Raptors lost that game, they went on to win the series 4–2, which makes the design meaningful.”
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design → lose → series
They all have meaning and they’re a way for fans to connect with the team, hold on to memories and celebrate history.
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fans → have → history
“Especially as ticket prices have gotten more and more expensive, I think it really helps fans to feel like they are appreciated,” Vuong said.
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Vuong → get → fans
“It preserves a particular moment into something tangible that fans can take home and have.”
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fans → preserve → that
From championship history, to team nostalgia to the “6ix” identity to some funnier imagery the organization has embraced, the Star asked Vuong to rank his favourites.
1.
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Star → embrace → favourites
The team had won the NBA title in the previous season and was playing a Christmas game for just the second time in franchise history.
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team → win → history
Fans consider playing in those marquee games a badge of honour for their team, and participation is usually reserved for clubs with the biggest stars or in the biggest U.S. markets.
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participation → consider → markets
The only other time the Raptors have played on Christmas was on 2001 during the height of Vin-sanity when Vince Carter was a rising superstar in Toronto.
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Carter → play → Toronto
Fans were lining up outside the arena at 6:30am, 14+ hours before tip-off.
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Fans → line → off
It really felt like a celebration of the past and the present.
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It → feel → past
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 7, 2020
This shirt featured all six of the team’s logos from their start in 1995, and were given out at Game 1 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
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shirt → feature → Finals
“It’s got the Raptors logo over the generations, so it’s almost like one that connects all the generations of fans together,” Vuong said.
3.
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Vuong → get → fans
The Golden Touch
This shirt was given out in 2019, and represents the long awaited moment Toronto won the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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Toronto → give → trophy
“We were all waiting for us to be the NBA world champions.”
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us → wait → ?
“That’s our classic,” Vuong said.
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Vuong → ’ → ?
“This speaks of my vintage from where they originated, right?
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they → speak → vintage
The Eye
This shirt was given out for Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers last season.
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shirt → give → Cavaliers
“This is the preference for really focusing on our mascot and who we are.”
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we → focus → mascot
The Angry Snowball
“Yeah, that’s a funny one right there.”
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that → ’ → ?
The last two shirts were fun, edgy designs to show off Toronto’s unique personality.
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shirts → show → personality
The 6
“Thanks to our good friend Drake, that is how the world sees us or thinks of us.”
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world → see → us
The Aporia
